SHARJAH — The Sharjah Municipality opened a new sewage treatment plant on Tuesday to serve Al Majaz and other nearby areas.

The new plant operates underground and will not have any environmental impact, the municipality chief said, assuring that it will not emit any foul odour.

“The previous sewage treatment plant in the area was not large enough and would often overflow, but the new pumping station connected to the treatment plant has a capacity to pump 2,000 litres (of sewage) per second and is three times larger,” said Sultan Al Mualla, Director-General of the municipality.

The plant, located next to Sharjah City Centre in Industrial Area 1, will now cater to the residential areas of Al Majaz, Al Taawun, Al Nahda and Industrial Area 1.

Built at a cost of Dh60 million, it had been under construction since October 2010 and is more efficient than the previous plant. “We have built it with a new design so that there is no opening and is all underground,” said Al Mualla, who noted that during the summer months, about 80 to 90 per cent of the sewage is used for irrigation. Up to 80 per cent of Sharjah city has been connected to the sewer network, and the main residential areas still to be connected include Al Ramtha, Al Guoz and Al Ghafiya.

The municipality also started operating two tollgates at the treatment plant on Tuesday for the entry and exit of sewage tankers. One of the tollgates would be for tankers of private companies and the other for the tankers of the government.

Al Mualla said the tankers entering the tollgate have to pay Dh30 for every trip. The tollgates, being monitored by the municipality round the clock, would shorten the queues of tankers and ease traffic flow. It would also help organise the movement of tankers. — afkarali@khaleejtimes.com